ANN ARBOR -- It took Michigan 20 minutes to shake off the rust of its bye week.

But when the Wolverines emerged from their slumber, they snatched back the lead from Michigan State, grabbed all the momentum and took control of the Big Ten race with a 79-70 win in Ann Arbor.

Sunday's win means the No. 20 Wolverines (19-7, 11-3) have won six of their last eight against the No. 13 Spartans (22-6, 11-4). And Michigan is alone in the Big Ten's top slot as the number of regular season games remaining dwindles.

A Nik Stauskas jumper less than a minute into the second half put the Wolverines up 39-38 and gave Michigan its first lead since 4-2 early in the game. Michigan State's Matt Costello answered right back for the Spartans, kicking off the dogfight, back-and-forth nature that would define the next 10 minutes.

But once Stauskas got hot, the Spartans couldn't stop Michigan's momentum. After just four points in the first half, the Wolverines' sophomore guard blew up for 19 of U-M's first 25 points of the second half. He finished with 25.

Michigan State's Gary Harris struggled again from the perimeter, going 4-of-13 from 3-point range despite leading the Spartans with 21 points.

Adreian Payne recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds but never found his shot in the second half. Denzel Valentine was the Spartans' second-leading scorer with 13 points.

MSU had 13 costly turnovers compared to the Wolverines' three and lost the game despite outrebounding Michigan 31-24 and shooting 54 percent from the field.

Michigan State shot 59 percent in the first half. The Spartans led 22-11 midway through the half before allowing the Wolverines to go on a 10-0 run. A Crisler Center crowd that had been quieted for the first 10 minutes was suddenly louder than it had been all season.

Michigan guard Caris LeVert scored 14 of the Wolverines' final 20 points of the first half and the Spartans went into halftime leading just 36-34 after controlling much of the first 20 minutes. The pre-halftime shot proved to be an omen of who would control the rest of the game.

MICHIGAN STATE HIGHLIGHTS

-- Derrick Walton, Jr. lofted up a 3-pointer with the Wolverines trailing 14-8 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half. Denzel Valentine corralled the rebound and got the ball to Gary Harris, who pushed the ball up the middle of the court to find a streaking Valentine in transition. Valentine caught the pass on the wing and immediately launched an NBA-length shot. It fell, Valentine clenched his fists on the the way back down and the Spartans went ahead 17-8.

-- Leading 22-11, Travis Trice came from behind Michigan point guard Spike Albrecht and swatted the ball down with authority. Michigan had to inbound the ball with just 6 seconds left on the shot clock and failed to get a shot off in time.

MICHIGAN STATE LOWLIGHTS

-- Down 59-52 and feeling the game slipping away, Michigan State left Caris LeVert wide open on the 3-point line long enough for him to drill a dagger and put the Wolverines up 10. LeVert followed that with a dunk and an exclamation point to give Michigan its largest lead of the night at 64-52 with 7:08 to play.

-- With 40 seconds to go in the first half, Gary Harris spun out of a double team and dropped it in to put Michigan State up five. But the Spartans didn't get back on defense and Nik Stauskas found Caris LeVert all alone for a 3-pointer. LeVert took a moment to give the MSU bench a glance before the ball even went in the net and the Wolverines took a confident jog into the locker room.

-- With Michigan State leading 11-6, Gary Harris got caught watching the ball and left his assignment, Nik Stauskas, standing all alone on the perimeter. With Harris flat-footed, Stauskas cut hard to the basket along the baseline for a dunk.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR REVISITED

Michigan State needed this win more than Michigan. While both are fighting for the Big Ten championship -- and still are -- the win marked the third straight for the Wolverines over the Spartans and their sixth in the last eight. Michigan State has lost the mental edge it had in this rivalry until 2010. Keith Appling and Adreian Payne will graduate without having won a game at the Crisler Center.

POSTGAME QUESTION

Can the Spartans still win the Big Ten or does this loss seal the deal in your mind?